3 rd WORLD CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS OF PARLIAMENTS

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "3 rd WORLD CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS OF PARLIAMENTS"

Transcription

1 3 rd WORLD CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS OF PARLIAMENTS United Nations, Geneva, 19 to 21 July 2010 SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 10 July 2010 INFORMATION FOR DELEGATES AND PERMANENT MISSIONS IN GENEVA Further to the two Explanatory notes (SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.1 and 1-Inf.2) circulated to all parliaments in February and May, respectively, the following practical information is provided to delegations attending the 3 rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (Geneva, 19 to 21 July 2010) and to their Permanent Missions in Geneva. Any question of a logistical or procedural nature that may arise from this note may be directed to the IPU Secretariat in Geneva. 1 Access to the United Nations compound All persons who have officially registered to participate in the Conference will receive accreditation, through the IPU Secretariat, from the UN Security Identification Unit (Pregny Gate) and be given a Conference identity badge, which will allow them access to the UN compound. Permanent Missions: Badges for the delegations to the 3 rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament will be available for collection by Permanent Missions as of 8.30 a.m. on Thursday, 15 July. The Permanent Mission representative designated to collect delegation badges should bring, in addition to a note verbale with full details of the delegation, his/her official UN accreditation and will be asked to sign for the number of badges collected. The UN Security Identification Unit (Pregny Gate) is open non-stop from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. It will be open, exceptionally, between 12 noon and 7 p.m. on Sunday, 18 July to allow Permanent Missions and participants without diplomatic representation in Switzerland to collect the badges in advance of the opening of the Conference. Delegates who collect their badges directly from the UN Security Identification Unit should ensure that they carry some form of official identification bearing a photo (passport, national identity card, etc.), as proof of identity. Without such documentation, the Unit will not be able to issue the Conference badge. Due to the large number of persons entering the UN compound through the Pregny Gate, Permanent Missions and delegates are advised to collect their badges in advance. Should this not be possible, it is recommended to leave ample time (one (1) hour) for badge collection and security screening on the Monday morning. 1 The IPU Secretariat in Geneva can be reached by phone ( ), fax ( ), or (postbox@mail.ipu.org).

2 - 2 - SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 Cars for Heads of Delegations: When collecting the Badges, the UN Security Identification Unit will give the Permanent Missions two A4-size country parking permits, which should be displayed, at all times, inside the windshield of the delegation s official vehicles when on UN premises. Only vehicles displaying the yellow-coloured country parking permit will be allowed access to the VIP entrance, Door 14, to be used exclusively by Speakers of Parliament and their Ambassador. The blue-coloured country parking permit allows a second official car to use the reserved car parking spaces in car parks P3 and P5. No other vehicles will be granted access to the UN compound, due to the very limited parking space available. Diplomatic vehicles with valid UNOG vehicle passes will be allowed access to the UN compound, but may not park in the reserved parking areas stated above (P3 & P5) unless they have the special blue/yellow parking permit of the Conference. Very Important As the Conference badges do not have photos, delegates are informed that they should only enter the UN compound through the Pregny Gate, where the guards have been instructed to allow access to the Conference through this entry point. Delegates must carry, at all times, some form of official identification bearing a photo (passport, national identity card, etc.) when entering the UN grounds. Without such identification, entry into the UN grounds may be refused. Arrival at the Assembly Hall Speakers are requested to arrive at the United Nations building between 9 a.m. and 9.45 a.m., and to proceed to the VIP Entrance of the Assembly Hall, through Door 14, where the IPU President and the IPU Secretary General will greet them. Refreshments will be served. IPU protocol officers will be at the door of the Assembly Hall to guide Speakers to their seats. All other delegates are invited to enter the building through Doors 13 or 15 on the second floor, directly below the Assembly Hall. To facilitate their entry, the doors of the Assembly Hall will open for delegates on 19 July at 9 a.m., i.e., one hour before the official opening of the Conference. Inside the room, country nameplates will designate the seating area for each delegation. At 9.55 a.m., the IPU President, the IPU Secretary General and UN Secretary-General will enter the Assembly Hall for the start of the Opening Ceremony of the 3 rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. By this time, all delegates should be seated. Given the restricted number of seats available for delegations, all other delegates are kindly requested to find a seat either in the free seating area, on either side of the Hall, or in the Assembly Hall s galleries. 2 Plenary sittings The Conference will open at 10 a.m. sharp with an Opening Ceremony presided over by the President of the IPU in the presence of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The first sitting of the plenary, on 19 July, will conclude at p.m. 2 Seats in this area are not assigned and are taken on a first come, first served basis.

3 - 3 - SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 Seating arrangements in the Assembly Hall In keeping with IPU practice, lots have been drawn among the delegations participating in the session. The name of the delegation from ROMANIA was drawn, and this delegation has accordingly been placed in the first row. The other delegations follow in English alphabetical order. Each delegation will be allotted four seats (two at desks and two behind) in the Assembly Hall. However, delegations of parliaments of countries with a population of one hundred million inhabitants or more, will be entitled to the same number of seats as delegations from countries with bicameral parliaments and comprising both Speakers, which will be allotted eight seats (four at desks and four behind). Additional seating is available in the room and the galleries of the Assembly Hall for persons accompanying parliamentary delegations. Observer delegations, which should be composed of no more than two persons, will be allotted one seat at a desk and one seat behind. Group photo A group photo of Speakers only will be taken immediately after the close of the morning sitting on Monday, 19 July. Speakers will be guided by IPU staff to their places at the stairs of the "cour d'honneur" where the photo will be taken. After the first photo, Vice-presidents of Parliaments and Presidents of International Parliamentary Organizations will be invited to join the Speakers for a second photo. Official luncheon After the photo session, Speakers will be guided to the lifts, which will take them to the Delegates Restaurant on the 8 th floor for the luncheon hosted by the IPU President. Practical arrangements All plenary meetings of the Conference will have simultaneous interpretation in the six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. For speeches delivered to the Conference in any other language, translations (in English or French) will need to be provided to the interpreters well in advance, and an official interpreter for the national delegation will have access to the rotating booth. 3 Each Speaker is entitled to five minutes speaking time. When both presiding officers from a bicameral parliament wish to address the Conference, each will be entitled to speak for four minutes. The presidents of official parliamentary assemblies that are Associate Members of the IPU are entitled to three minutes' speaking time. Further information on speaking rights can be found in Rules 8 to 13 of the Rules of the Conference. In order to help delegates observe the provisions of the Rules relating to speaking time, a digital display count-down timing device will be placed on the speakers' rostrum in the Assembly Hall. Panel discussions Alongside the plenary of the Conference, two panel discussions will take place on 20 July from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Countdown to 2015: Keeping our collective promise on the Millennium Development Goals), and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Strengthening trust between parliament and the people), respectively. The venue for both panels will be Conference Room XVI, 3 For directions to the interpretation booths, interpreters must enquire at the conference room staff table located near the podium inside the Assembly Hall.

4 - 4 - SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 located on the fifth floor of the same building as the Assembly Hall. Participation in these debates will be open to all delegates and diplomats. There will be no particular seating order; however, all the nameplates of those countries attending the Conference will be placed at the entrance to the room. Delegates are requested to collect their nameplate and place it in front of their delegation, to facilitate the work of the moderators in identifying questions or remarks from the floor. There will be interpretation into the four languages customarily used at IPU meetings, namely Arabic, English, French and Spanish. An interpretation booth will also be available, on a rotating basis, for the interpretation of individual statements from any other language. Interpreters wishing to use this booth should contact the Conference Officer inside the meeting room 30 minutes before the beginning of the panel in order to receive appropriate instructions. Screening of the film "Countdown to Zero" On the wings of the Speakers Conference, on Tuesday, 20 July, in Room XIX (Building E), there will be a screening of the film "Countdown to Zero" (a documentary about the escalating nuclear arms crisis). At p.m. in the area just outside Room XIX, in l Escargot Foyer, a finger buffet with soft drinks will be available for delegates attending the screening, which will start at 1 p.m., with some short introductory remarks followed by the film. Other meetings Six rooms are available for bilateral meetings. Reservations can be made through Ms. Sue Fewings at the IPU Information Counter on the second floor, directly below the Assembly Hall. Delegations wishing to organize geopolitical group meetings from 19 to 21 July may do so in Conference Room XI, on the same floor as the Assembly Hall (3 rd floor, Building A). Ms. Sue Fewings should also be contacted for room reservations. All requests should indicate the preferred time and the approximate length of the meeting. All reservations will be made on a first come, first served basis. Documents The official documents of the Conference will be available in the Information Kits handed over to delegates by the Documents Distribution service, located on the 2 nd floor, directly below the Assembly Hall. The remaining Conference documents will be available on a table placed immediately outside the main entrance of the Assembly Hall; further copies may be obtained from the Documents Distribution service. The provisional agenda, the draft declaration, and the draft rules will be available in all six official languages of the United Nations. All other official documents will be available in English and French, the two working languages of the IPU. 4 The Conference s Daily Journal will also be placed on the official IPU documents table outside the main entrance of the Assembly Hall, as well as at the IPU Information Counter and Documents Distribution Service. The Daily Journal will announce the list of speakers for the day, group meetings, programme changes, media events and other information. 4 Other official documents are: The report on the Sixth Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliaments, reports of the two Panel discussions and the Daily Journal.

5 - 5 - SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 Speeches At least 20 advance copies of each official statement should be prepared by the delegations for the interpreters before the start of each sitting and handed to one of the Conference Room Officers in the Assembly Hall (located at the reserved seating area in the left-hand wing of the Hall). Speakers wishing to share their statements with other delegations must provide additional copies of the statement and have them placed on the tables reserved for this purpose, outside the main entrance of the Assembly Hall. Delegations are encouraged to the extent possible to provide such copies in either English or French. Official statements should also be distributed to the media at the Media Office (3rd floor, Building A, Room A-390). In order to reach all interested journalists, some 50 copies of each statement should be made available. Official photos Photos of each speaker at the rostrum of the Assembly Hall will be available upon request from the IPU Media Office (3 rd floor, Building A, A-390). Reception offered by the Parliament of Switzerland Delegates are reminded that there will be a security check at the entrance of the Bâtiment des Forces motrices (BFM). Participants will have to present the official Conference badge (or a proof of identity) and an invitation card for each person to be able to enter the venue of the Monday evening reception at the BFM. Transportation in coaches (stationed at Door 14) will be available for Speakers and other delegates invited to this reception, as of 6.15 p.m. on Monday, 19 July. It is highly recommended that delegates avail themselves of this means of transport as other vehicles may have difficulties reaching the venue. Delegates arriving later than 7.15 p.m. at the BFM will not be able to attend the cultural performance. After the reception, coaches (bearing the names of the hotels they will be going to) will be available for delegates. Media A detailed information note on arrangements for the media is available on the IPU website. List of delegates Four copies of the provisional list of delegates will be placed in delegates pigeonholes by the Documents Distribution Service. In order to enable the IPU Secretariat to prepare the final list, which will be available on the IPU website shortly after the close of the Conference, and to ensure the accuracy of its contents, delegations are requested to indicate on the document containing information relating to their delegation, distributed to them in the Assembly Hall, any modification to be made to this list. The corrected list should be duly signed by the Head of the Delegation and handed to Ms. Marina Filippin at the IPU Information Counter (2 nd floor, directly below the Assembly Hall), before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 20 July 2010.

6 - 6 - SP-CONF/2010/1-Inf.3 Conference services On the second floor of Building A (directly below the Assembly Hall), between Doors 13 and 15, are located a number of Conference services, which will be open between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday, 19 July to Wednesday, 21 July 2010: IPU Information Counter, Documents Distribution Service, Internet corner, Cafeteria (opening hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.). WIFI Wifi is also available in the Assembly Hall, in the area of the Salle des Pas perdus, and the IPU Conference services area on the 2 nd floor. The WIFI access in conference rooms is not subject to authentication; delegates need only activate their wireless card and connect to wireless network "Internet" to access to the Internet.